Highly enraged residents of Swat on Sunday staged yet another protest demonstration against the increasing lawlessness and emergence of armed bands in the mountains of Mingora.
The call for the protest had been given by Swat Qaumi Aman Jirga and it was attended by thousands of people. The participants demanded of the government to play its role and maintain law and order as well as protect the lives and property of the local inhabitants against militants.
They said that no one would be allowed to threaten the peace of the district and locals would go to any length against it.
The protest was attended by members of civil society, political parties, traders, lawyers, students, and clerics in large numbers.
Local elders addressed the gathering and alleged that armed men had been allowed to return to several parts of the province unnoticed and that they are a great threat to the region’s peace.
They demanded of the government to equip police with modern weapons and give the force full authority to handle these armed bands.
They lamented that people’s elected representatives were missing in action in this trying time and they were just releasing videos recorded in the safety of their residences in other cities.
“Those who are against militancy and chaos in the region they should come forward instead of recording video messages,” they said.
The local elders of Swat demanded to make them part of negotiations with TTP, adding that the talks process is completely unacceptable to them because they have no representation in it.
“These recent attacks are a big question mark on the ability of the current provincial government. The federal and provincial governments are engaged in a blame game instead of taking concrete steps to eradicate militancy,” they maintained.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 19th, 2022.
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